Stallions (long)

[Linda Flemmer <bluewolfranch@yahoo.com>]

I cringe when I see handlers let stallions get away
with murder because they could never discipline poor
"Pooky".  "He's just acting out his nature."

Worse yet are the folks who think their 2 yo stud
should stay a stud because:

1)  "He'll grow or development better."
2)  "He's so well mannered & I'm sure that will never
change."
3)  "I want one of his foals from my mare so the kids
can see the miracle of life."
4)  "Stud fees are too expensive when I can breed my
own."

Not every handler is cut out to handle a stallion. 
Not every stallion is stallion material.  I tell a lot
of folks that their good stallion would make a GREAT
gelding.

While in college, I was on a training ride with my
mare and two friends, Patty on her mare and Carol on
an Paint stallion named Baldy.  We had decided to go
swimming bareback in the pond on our return trip home
to cool off.  (August in Florida)  

My friend's mare was bitten by a snake in the water
and she erupted in a bucking fit.  Patty eventually
slipped off the mare's rump and was badly kicked in
the face.  She was unconscious, face down in the
water.  Carol threw me Baldy's reins as she dove off
his back to pull Patty to safety.  Inside of about 10
minutes, I am hand walking a stallion & two mares home
while the other two are on an ambulance ride to the
hospital.

Despite coming off of a heavy breeding season just a
couple of months prior, Baldy never said a word.   He
never eyed the mares, never dropped, never made a
move.  He was in a "work mode" and he knew it.  It
could have been a fiasco if he hadn't been trained in
his manners!

Baldy was a different horse whe you put his "breeding
halter" on.  It was made of leather rather than nylon.
 He knew the difference.  He also knew the difference
between AI & live cover.  He was the ideal boy to
teach new vet students how to handle a boy in the
breeding shed.

Linda Flemmer
Blue Wolf Ranch
West Virginia

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